Nike US Open Experiential Technology
How RFID and Social Media Gamification Transformed the Surf Event Experience
The Nike US Open of Surfing was more than just a surf competition—it was an opportunity to revolutionize live event engagement through cutting-edge technology. At a time when brands were giving away thousands of dollars in swag with no direct return, I worked directly with Facebook’s top engineers to pioneer an innovative approach to social commerce and gamification.
By combining RFID wristbands, social media APIs, and real-world gamification, I designed and architected a seamless digital-physical experience that not only drove massive engagement but also gave brands valuable data and direct audience connections—bridging the gap between brand experience and measurable digital impact.
The Challenge
At major events like the US Open, brands gave away free products (swag) but had no way to track who received them, let alone drive continued engagement. Meanwhile, social media companies were still trying to figure out how to bring digital engagement to physical spaces.
The key problems:
- Swag Giveaways Lacked ROI: Brands handed out thousands of dollars in gear without any way to track the recipients or re-engage with them.
- Social Media Wasn’t Integrated into Physical Events: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were primarily used before or after events, but there was no frictionless way to connect them during the experience.
- RFID in Consumer Engagement Was New Territory: Using RFID outside of logistics and access control was largely untested—especially in a gamified, consumer-facing setting.
- Infrastructure Challenges: The US Open was a seven-day event on the beach—we had to build a robust, real-time AWS-powered backend and deploy physical RFID infrastructure on-site.
I needed to design a system that solved all of these problems simultaneously.
The Solution: The Nike US Open Gamified Social Experience
To turn the Nike US Open of Surfing into a fully interactive, gamified brand experience, I created an end-to-end solution combining RFID wristbands, social APIs, and real-time game mechanics.
How It Worked:
- RFID-Linked ID Cards:
- Every attendee received a Nike-designed RFID ID card on a lanyard—branded, premium, and collectible.
- To activate it, they had to link at least one social media account (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram).
- Gamification + Check-In System:
- Attendees checked in at interactive brand stations throughout the event using their RFID cards.
- Each check-in triggered real-time social media actions, posting event updates and interactions directly to the attendee’s social feeds.
- Players earned points, and high scores unlocked exclusive swag from Nike and partner brands.
- Physical & Digital Infrastructure:
- I designed the RFID scanning enclosures and figured out how to make iPads act as RFID readers (a major technical challenge at the time).
- Deployed AWS-powered real-time processing to handle thousands of check-ins and social actions simultaneously.
- Built a social publishing system for event staff to send push notifications and updates.
- Integrated live event streaming into the US Open mobile app (I didn’t handle the transcoding, but I built the app-side streaming functionality).
- Redemption Booth & Brand Engagement Loop:
- Swag wasn’t just handed out—it had to be earned.
- Attendees who won prizes from the game took their RFID cards to a redemption booth, where they could collect their swag.
- Nike and partner brands now had direct engagement data on every person who won their product.
- Massive Scale & Impact:
- 18,000+ active players.
- 175,000+ check-ins over seven days.
- Nike, event sponsors, and partner brands gained direct access to thousands of engaged consumers.
Technical Architecture
- AWS Lambda (serverless processing)
- AWS SQS (decoupled order processing queues)
- Shopify GraphQL API (inventory checks & order updates)
- CloudWatch Logging (real-time monitoring & debugging)
- SNS Alerts (error notifications)
Results and Impact
- Transformed social engagement for live events, proving that social media could be seamlessly integrated into physical experiences.
- Created a blueprint for brand-driven social commerce, showing how experiential activations could translate into long-term customer engagement.
- Developed an RFID-powered system that bridged digital actions with real-world rewards.
- Laid the foundation for future experiential activations, leading to projects like the Nike Women’s Marathon and inquiries from Universal Studios.
My Role
As the lead architect and project lead, I was responsible for:
- Conceptualizing with the Nike team the entire experience, bridging Nike’s brand vision with cutting-edge tech.
- Working directly with Facebook engineers to define social API interactions for real-world events.
- Building the AWS-based backend to support real-time event engagement.
- Deploying RFID reader enclosures and making iPads function as RFID scanners.
- Developing the Nike US Open mobile app, including push notifications, game integrations, and live streaming.
- Overseeing physical infrastructure deployment on-site to ensure everything worked in real-world conditions.
- Managing multiple teams, including developers, infrastructure specialists, and on-site tech support.
Why It Matters
This wasn’t just a tech project—it was a fundamental shift in how brands approached live events. Instead of simply handing out swag, we turned brand activations into interactive, data-driven experiences that merged:
- RFID + social media engagement for real-world social amplification.
- Gamification + commerce, proving that experiences could drive measurable ROI.
- Digital + physical infrastructure, showing that large-scale brand activations could be scalable and seamless.
The Nike US Open of Surfing was more than an event—it was a proof of concept for the future of social-driven experiential marketing.